Have a REAL Merry Christmas

Mmmhmm, I love Christmas time. I mean what is there not to love? People have a reason to be nice to each other, families makes an effort to get together, and for once, people really focus on serving others. But lets be honest, as I have grown some of the "magic" has almost left. I mean I think some big shot store might try to copywrite the usage of the word Christmas. Everywhere we look, its more about making money, and less about the real reason of why we even celebrate Christmas. For me, Its been discouraging. It frustrates me when stores started opening Thanksgiving day to get that "90% off for the next thirty seconds" sale in. Where are the priorities? Looking back on the Christmases I have been apart of, I honestly don't remember what I received every year, but I DO remember when my family decided to do the "12 days of Christmas" for a family in my ward. I also remember when my uncle suggested we go feed the homeless on Christmas Eve, and how that changed my perspective on what mattered. As Christmas is approaching quickly this year, I was so glad for the annual devotional hosted by the first presidency. President Monson commented this year:

"I, with you, have witnessed during the past few days and weeks what has become over the years the annual commercialization of Christmas. I am saddened to see Christmas becoming less and less about Christ and more and more about marketing and sales, parties and presents.

And yet, Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christmas."
I was talking to a friend this past week who works in retail. He has stated before, that working in retail has made him dread the holidays. However while I was talking  to him on this occasion, he said that he started feeling the Christmas spirit again as he was shopping and making presents for his younger brother. He commented that it made him excited to think about how his brother is going to  react on Christmas Eve. Another experience that recently happened that touched my heart: my younger sister is a member of the choir at Orem High School, and they are going to Disneyland this year to compete. The cost of the trip was out of the family budget, which was a disappointment to my sister. Tonight however, an anonymous
friend left a note at the doorstep saying that her trip to Disneyland was paid in full. I cannot imagine the sacrifice that this person went through in order to help my sister. I hope, and challenge you, that this Christmas, we can put CHRIST back into Christmas. I hope that we together can have charity and look for opportunities to serve one another, so we can remember how we felt GIVING instead of GETTING. I love this time of year, and am grateful for it. PLease take time and watch these clips: (copy and paste to open!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PFIam4QTcM&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXXwtFWpAI8http://youtu.be/RM8XoT7qnxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM8XoT7qnxY

Who in the world is Heidi Corinne Dymock?

Hmm. What an interesting question. Who really knows who Heidi Corinne Dymock is, and what she is all about? Well.. I have blue eyes, and blonde hair.. My hair grows.. daily... I shower once a day. I  like talking... A LOT. Eating warm homemade bread makes my heart (and tummy) smile.. Disappointing people makes me sad. Validation is the  best gift anyone can give me..

So my next question is this: With so many people in the world (there is about seven billion and counting) How can I, Heidi Corinne Dymock, be remembered? How can I stand from the crowd? How can, with all the traffic, chaos, and noise, how can I be remembered and WHY am I being remembered by My Heavenly Father?

For those of you who are currently keeping up with my life, you know that I just recently moved back down from Oregon. I had been living there for the past two and a half years. It was awesome. I had my own amazing apartment, boyfriend, and I had been promoted at my job. Life was fine. It was just grand. I had no want to change anything. I was content. But, my life wasn't designed to be JUST content. I wasn't supposed to be where I was. My Heavenly father knew that, and so did I... deep down in my heart. You see, there is a big plan for us. Its very personal, but connected altogether. Whether we like it or not our plan may not always be the RIGHT plan. We may try to do our own little thing for a while but, when its time to get down to business, things fall into place. Let me give you a timeline:

October 15th ishh : Wake up from a nightmare, thought comes to mind: you need to move back to utah.
October 30th: Talk to a store manager from the bank I work at who was in my ward: asking how to transfer branches. Find out you can't "transfer" but you look to see if any locations are hiring, apply, get interviewed see if it'll work for you, and for the management. That night I see If any locations in the Utah County area are hiring, one in Provo is. Applied for the position.
November 4th: Hired on at the provo location, also find out they are able to match my previous pay.
(minimum wage in Utah is about a dollar less than in Oregon.. you do the math)
November 18th: Start date in Provo, Utah


Now I don't know about you.. but this wasn't in MY plan. I think I was being guided.. or pushed a little bit, don't you? :) There were even more experiences during that time, that made me understand more, that I am a Daughter of a LOVING Heavenly Father. He hears my prayers, even when there are seven billion people praying all the time. He still makes it known to me that He hears me. He loves me, and he will guide me to know what is the best thing for me.

I also had a very painful experience happen to me during this process. My boyfriend and I of two years and counting broke up. It hasn't been the easiest experience for me seeing that after all that time I kinda love him.. just a little bit at least.. See thats another thing about that Heidi Dymock girl, I have a big heart. and I am a cry baby. haha But  I am here to tell you, that if you trust in God, knowing that He has full control of your life, knowing that He will never lead you astray, you will be sustained. Especially in those hard times, where you wonder if you'll be able to smile even when you're feeling that deep heartache. Whatever it may be.

I know that we will never be forgotten. I know that He knows that I am Heidi Corinne, and that I love mac n cheese and hot chocolate. Or that I love chick flicks, or I get way into sports and sometimes have to remove myself so I will stop yelling at the ref's through the TV. I know that this is true! Thanks for letting me share it with you! :)

THE BIG TWO-ONE

October 18th, 1990, was a beautiful, amazing, most wonderful, joyous occasion. Heidi Corinne Dymock was born. The world would never ever be the same. This lovely bombshell blond was born to the world's greatest parents. Paul and Shirlene. Man, how could other parents even compete with this one hit wonder (Heidi)
Because it's such a loverly day, I thought as the birthday girl, it is my duty to show the awesomeness (yes I made up that word I think) of the life I have been living.

TOP FIVE BIRTHDAYS
5.)  2nd Birthday, I remember absolutely everything about this day! (sarcasm) The only thing I DO remember
 is that I had a kick-butt good cake.
4.) 10th birthday, first "boy-girl" party, I went bowling, and man, I was kind of a big deal. Don't worry, I one, or at least that's what I told everybody.
3.) 12th birthday: Highlights? It was a girls-only birthday which meant, MAKE-OVERS! And of course we had to hire professionals (aka my dad, and my sister) to transfer our delightful faces into beautiful master-pieces. Don't worry about it, we then chased the boys that lived in our neighborhood, to show them how HAWT we really were.
2.) 18th birthday: VEGAS! HECK YES! I went with some friends for the weekend and it was a parrrrtayy! The drive down included a two hour traffic jam, and definitely playing some Chinese fire drill! We saw the blue man group, went shopping, and had some boys hooting and hollering! Note to self: don't look back when boys call after you. Got it.
1.) Guess you will have to stay tuned until I have an even better birthday! ha!

Today however was a really good birthday. I was definitely feeling the love from all my facebook friends.  I am grateful for all my family and friends. Great memories, yeah? Listed below I will show you some pictures of the awesome gifts I received today.

 Don't worry, Josh bought me some adult diapers, you know since I am getting old and stuff ;-) Flowers, courtesy of Mom, Dad, Ryan, Leah, Keith, and Kelliane. Cards from grandparents :) Thank you!

 Oh! That's me! Thanks again Fam!

 Um, this cake, was uh made by me.. Lets just say I won't start a cake business :)
Thanks for sharing my birthday with me. I hope you enjoyed my little ramblings! :)
Some more pictures for your pleasure!

Marriage is what brings us together today....

Okay, before you get your heart a thumpin' thinking I am engaged, I am not. That is not what we are going to be talking about tonight. I have been thinking about marriage a lot lately. This is most likely because it seems like my whole graduating class is married by now :) Being out of Utah has opened up my eyes to many ways of life. I have had the experience to see broken families and broken marriages. I have seen civil weddings and felt the peace from Latter-Day Saint weddings. It all has been almost too overwhelming for me.

Not too long ago, I went for a run with a couple of my friends. As we were talking/running/walking, the topic of marriage was brought up. A good friend of mine has recently been going through a divorce, and seeing the pain that it has caused her, has frightened me. While we were talking about this situation, the conversation led to questions like "well, maybe marriage isn't for everyone?" "Maybe some people are just meant to be alone?" and other opinions like, even when people try their hardest sometimes it just doesn't work out. When you meet someone and are with them for so long, you both change, and sometimes just drift.
I threw in my thoughts such as... "Well, it has to be with the right person at the right time and in the right  place.." So on and so forth but it just sounded silly.

After I was dropped off, I was thinking about this, and how it made me feel. Fairy tales? nah.. Marriage? AH!.. I didn't like this. I didn't like feeling that this was reality, and you just had to "get over it, and accept it"
 As I was thinking about the role models in my life, I thought about my parents. I thought about the marriage they have, the trials they have gone through, and the ways they made it through them. I knew that life wasn't perfect, and neither were they, So I pondered why and how they could, even amidst trial, pain, heartache, sickness, finance, stressfulness, they could still tell me after twenty-eight years, that they still loved each other.

And it was that "silly answer" I threw in. It has to be with the right person at the right time and in the right place. My parents had a peaceful, private confirmation from my loving Heavenly Father years ago that It was RIGHT, and they both lived their lives worthily so they could stand proud before our Savior and get married for time and all eternity.  Through the example of my parents, I understand the importance of getting married in the Temple. I understand that though marriage will not be "a walk in the park" that if you rely on the Lord and honor, serve and love your spouse that you will feel heavenly strength. As my parents are celebrating another year of marriage in a couple days, I thank them for their example of love, faith, and hope. Thank you Mom and Dad. I love you.

Things I wish I would have known at age 16

Today was an exciting day. I mean honestly, it was fantastic! It was Josh (my significant others') brother, Taylor's, graduation. OK, that was kind of confusing. Did you follow? Anyhow, we went and watched him walk, and cheered Taylor on as I fist pumped him. Yeah! You go boyfriend!
After this awesome gathering, Josh's family all got together for some celebrating. It was amazingly outrageous! We pulled out some family home videos, and laughed as we looked at the hot mullets the boys used to sport.
It's a shame those ever went out of style... ;-)  This gave me a chance to stop and witness how great the family really is. We didn't require materialist things to have a good time. Just being able to have each others company was perfect enough. (now remember this because I will come back to it later!)

Unfortunately what happened next brought me back to reality.  I received a call from my sixteen year old sister, who was in tears. It started out like this ".... Heidi, do you have time to talk with me..."  My sisterly instincts immediately kicked in. "Of course I do..."  We had a close conversation about someone (s) who chose to hurt her feelings. These someones were specifically boys. Oh how I love stupid boys. As she was explaining what was happening and what was being said to her; my own memories from being sixteen flooded my mind. I remembered what I was going through "when I was her age" and it was almost the same. As I tried to explain the fact that if these boys weren't treating her right blah blah blah not real friends blah blah I had a light bulb moment. I realized that after four years past my 16th birthday, I did not remember most of the boys last names of whom I had a "secret crush". I do however, remember being upset that what's his bucket didn't text me after we had a "flirting 2 second eye glance at each other" in front of my English teacher's classroom

Why in the WORLD did I let these boys I associated with, have so much power over my happiness? Why could I not realize that in a couple years, I would understand that even though " I thought he was the one" he really wasn't. Why did I not connect that my parents were REALLY on my side, and not trying to sabotage my "amazing social life". I longed as I talked to my sister that she could please understand this. I don't want her to shed as many tears that I did, for boys that treated me less than I was, or am now.

I know that I don't have a chance to be sixteen all over again, but my sister is living it now. So I dedicate this little blog to her, that she can know the things I know now.
1) Boys who don't treat you like the Daughter of God that you are, are not worth keeping around
2) Mom and Dad REALLY DO know what they are talking about :)
3) Instead of trying to build relationships with boys, focus on building relationships with your family. As I have grown up more, my sisters and brothers have become my best friends. Focus on them, and becoming closer to our Heavenly Father.


Lastly, I love my family. I love how blessed I am. I am grateful for the experiences I faced in high school, so now I can help my sister make it through them. Thank you.

Being nice... or Flirting?

I am one of those lucky creatures that has the pleasure of working at a bank. It's just great. Paid Holidays, working a not too shabby 845-615 schedule everyday, so on and so forth. I love the people I work with. Funny how actually liking your co-workers can make a HUGE difference in the day. Thus is life. I have run into only a couple hiccups in my experience at this bank.
1.) Socially awkward boys and...
2.) Socially awkward girlfriends of the socially awkward boys.

At my job, it is a expected to have great customer service. This includes smiling, talking, and trying to sell a 2nd checking account. For some reason however, this gets interpreted by some as "getting hit on" by their local teller. Why you ask? I guess it is sexy for some to hear a blue-eyed, blonde hair, slightly plump teller ask " can I print you a new balance?" But, it sure has gotten me in trouble. Instead of answering questions about how much interest they could be receiving on a savings account; I am badgered with demands to know if I am married or have kids. Interesting.. ehh..?

I don't flirt with them if that's what you are thinking. I really don't. Here: read on and choose for yourself if I am or not.

 Guy #1. Silly Teenager tellers are for banking!
This little 17 year old was just lovely. I liked helping him "reach his financial goals", and he was just a fun guy to talk with.  However, I guess it was time to express his love for me. It started like this "Finally YOU get to help me!" ...." I know, right? It's about time!"
He then continued "Well, I usually let people skip me in line, so you can help me, but it never works out. I mean you ARE my favorite" ... oh goodness.. where do I go with this, thanks kid but.... "Well, that's awfully kind of you"  ... I should probably wrap this up... "Can I do anything else for you?" .... and of course he had to throw in... "Not until I am eighteen..." this was followed by a very long three second stare and a uncomfortable courtesy laugh. Well... big gulps huh....?

Crazy girlfriend #1.
When couples come in, I love asking how long they have been dating, and how they met; you know the fun questions. Well, this darling couple came in, and of course I was talking with them, building a customer relationship. Apparently, some girlfriends just don't like it when ANYONE talks or even look at their boyfriend. I didn't realize that this was how she was. They seemed normal enough, I made their deposit and then they left. Well... a couple days later havoc broke lose. The girlfriend, who was CONVINCED that her boyfriend was indeed cheating with ME on her... stormed into my bank and closed out all of her accounts. She then threatened that if I ever talk to them again, I would be in for a ride. Awesome.

These are a couple of the lovely experiences I get to have everyday... Maybe it'd be better if I was rude and snobbish, then I wouldn't risk "flirting" with all the random men/boys/whatevers I talk to. hmmm... well lesson learned. Good talk. :)

and.. Here. We. GO.

SO...
I'm giving this whole blogging idea a try.. I mean who wouldn't, you can write whatever you want, and people can either A. Ignore it, B. Laugh at your ranting and or story telling, OR C. also get the blogging bug, just as I did. I think that it will be good for me though. I will be able to write down little notes to help myself realize that I am indeed blessed, and have a "pretty much amazing life" :)